Mattress



(No Model.)

M. E. SMITH. MATTRESS.

N0.278,o55. Patented May 22,1883.

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PATENT OFFICE.

MARY E. SMITH, OF SPAOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS.

MATTRESS.

SPECIFICATION forming part `or Letters Patent No. 278,055, dated May 22, 1883.

Application filed January 1l, 1883. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARY E. SMITH, of Somerville, in the county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement" in Mattresses, of which the following is a description suficiently full, clear, and exact to enable any person skilled in the art or science to which said invention appertains to make and use the same, reference bein g had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is an isometrical perspective view of a mattress provided with my improvement, Fig. 2, a view of the handle shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a perspective view, showing a modification of my improvement; Fig. 4, a view of the handle shown in Fig. 3 detached, and Fig. 5 a vertical section of the handle shown in Fig. 4.

Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the diierent iigures of the drawmgs.

It is well known that mattresses as ordinarily constructed are very inconvenient to han dle, rendering it difficult to turn them properly in making beds, or to move them from place to place, as required. Y It is also well known that when mattresses are constantly used, unless they are frequently turned, the hair or material with which they are stuffed will cake77 or become matted, and thus render them unfitted for use, or at least veryuncomfortable.

My invention is designed to obviate these diiculties and objections and to that end I make use of means which will be readily understood by all conversant with such matters from the following explanation, the extreme simplicity of the improvement rendering an elaborate description unnecessary.

In the drawings, A represents the body of the mattress, and B C the handles. The haudles are preferably composed of ticking or of the same material as the covering of the body of the mattress, and stuffed or upholstered, as seen in Fig. 2, to prevent them from hurting the hands. The upholstering or stnfing does not,'however, extend the entire length, but only to tle points x,'the ends of the handles consisting of ticking only. 'The handles are* tress as best shown in Fig. l, the handle B difficulty. To provide for this requirement is the object of attaching the handles to the mattress as shown, the handles being inclined or laid dat on the surface of the mattress before its ends are sewed into the seam d, or so that when it is attached the distance from to a, Fig. 1, will be considerably greater than from fi to n, whereby the handle will bedrawn down or back to its normal position bythe spring of the mattress and the expansive action of the part between w and a as soon as it is released after being used. By inclining the handles as shown, or the handle B lin the direction of the end D, and the handle C in the direction of the end E, they are more con venieutly grasped by the hands ot' the person using them, as they will be raised from the side of the mattress in the act of lifting it, whereas it' they inclined in the opposite direction the tendency would be to press against the mattress as it is lifted, and thus hurt the hands.

As the constant use ot' handles on the side 'of the mattress, as described, would tend to pull it out of shape, to prevent this contingency I employ a stay-line, G, extending laterally through the body A, thereby connecting each of the handles with'a corresponding handle on the opposite side of the mattress, it being understood that each side of the mattress is provided with a pair of the handles. The ends of the lines may be secured lo buttons, or in any other convenient and proper manner, and should be drawn taut, or' so arranged that when the mattress is lifted by either pair of its handles the strain will be evenly distributed or exerted on both sides of the mattress at the same time. l also prefer to re-enforce the mattress at the ends ot' the lines, and for that arranged and secured to the sides of the matl purpose the'stays f may be used, being composed of ticking, leather, or any proper material, and secured in position to receive the strain on the cords.

In Fig. 3 a modification of my improvement is shown, the handles H, preferably composed of ticking or leather, being attached to plates J, and the plates, which are arranged vertically on either side ot' the mattress, connected by the cords Gr. The plates are also provided on their inner sides or faces with smooth spherical projections g, and when the mattress has been turned the plates are also turned down into a horizontal position, out of the Way of the side rails of the bedstead, where they are held by the projections g,sinking into the sideof the mattress, as shown at t.

It Will. be obvious that the upholstery of the handles B C, the cords G, stays f, and projectionsg may be omitted, if desired, also that the handles B C may be inclined inwardly instead of outwardly, and that the cord may be used with any handle adapted to assist in turning the mattress, without departing materially f from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus explained my invention, what 25 I claim is- 1. A mattress having a handle at either side, the handles being connected by a cord passing through the body of the mattress, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2.` The mattress A, provided with the handles B C, arranged to incline, respectively, to- Ward-its ends, substantially as and forthe purpose specied.

3. The plates J J, provided with the han- 3 5 dles H and connected by the cord G, in combination with the mattress A, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

4, The plates J, provided with the projections g, substantially as and for the purpose 4o set forth.

MARYv E. SMITH.

Wfitnesses:

U. A. SHAW, H. E. METCALF. 

